Unintentional

Lighter Fluid

Jacey

I stood against the wall, watching Nyree with her fiancée. I couldn't help but feel jealous when she kissed him before walking off. I decided to make this day fun and followed the man as he walked his child to nearest toy store. I found it extremely funny that they picked the same day to come to the mall as me. My son had been begging to go toy shopping for weeks and this was the only day both Chassidy and I were available at the same time.

   Just like Nyree's fiancée, I gave Chassidy my card, letting her roam free and buy whatever she wanted. As soon as the little girl ran off to find a toy, I followed her mainly out of curiosity; I just wanted to get a good look at her. I browsed a couple of aisles so he wouldn't seem like a creep before finally waking down the aisle to where she was standing. She was looking up at the top shelf, trying to reach the toy that she wanted. In one motion, I grabbed the box and handed it to her. "Thank you", she smiled shyly. "You're welcome. Is that the one you wanted?". She nodded her head and looked up at me.

   "You're really tall. Bigger than my daddy", she admired; I laughed. "Who knows, you might be as tall as me one day". I couldn't help but stand there and smile at her. She had all of Nyree's features. The freckles, the nose, curly hair, even her skin tone; It was too real for me. Just as I was about to leave, she grabbed my hand. "C'mon, I wanna show you what other toys I want".
I laughed as she dragged me to every aisle, pointing to the toys she wanted but couldn't reach. When she was done she made me walk back to the front of the store with her to meet up with her dad. "Daddy look, I made a friend!", She exclaimed, showing him all the toys I got for her. The man looked up at me with a questionable look which was understandable. "I saw her trying to get something she couldn't reach so I helped her out a little", I explained.

   "That's nice of you man, I'm Jourdin", he smiled, extending his hand. "Jacey". "That's funny, my little girl's name is Lacey", he laughed, smiling down at the little girl. 'Trust me I know', I thought as I  laughed to myself. "Cute name for a little girl, you got good taste", I complimented. "Yea well, I didn't have much say when it came to names", Jourdin admitted. My interest peaked a little more. "Oh really?". "Yea. When my fiancee found out she was pregnant, she was so adamant about the name. I tried to give her other options but she wouldn't budge. She can be stubborn at times", he laughed. 

   I was laughing hysterically on the inside. Jourdin had no idea how much he just made my day. "Well she's a woman, being stubborn is a part of their existence don't you think?". "Yea I guess you can say that", Jourdin replied. "Well tell your fiancee I said Lacey is a beautiful name". "Will do. Nice meeting you Jacey" "Same here, Jourdin". We shook hands once again before I began to walk away. "Bye Jacey!", Lacey yelled. "Bye cutie", I smiled, making my way to wherever Nyree was.

Nyree

   I was so glad Jourdin convinced me to get out. Shopping was one of the things I loved to do when I was stressed. I already had picked out more than 8 outfits and was walking toward the fitting room to try them on. My phone was vibrating in my hand and I saw that I got a text from Jourdin. I opened the message and smiled at a picture of Lacey standing next to a cart full of toys. I sent a quick text and tossed my phone in my purse when I suddenly crashed into someone.

   "I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention", I exclaimed, picking up the items I had dropped, not bothering to look up. "You always did walk with your head down", the stranger mumbled, clearly amused. I froze and looked up at the man who sounded so familiar. I gasped when I saw Jacey standing there with the most goofy grin on his face. "Long time no see", he smiled, helping her up. "Spade", I whispered, using one of his many nicknames. "Hey, Nyree".
"What are you doing here?" I asked. "Jr wanted some toys so I brought them here". "Them?" It was Jacey's turn to feel uncomfortable. "Yea, I brought his mom with us". "You mean Chassidy?" I countered. He hung his head and nodded. "So are you guys married now?" He shook his head, "Nah, just engaged". "Well congratulations", I smiled. Jacey just shrugged his shoulders and mumbled, "Thanks".